Tossable head

ABSTRACT

A tossable head advertising system includes a soft or semi soft head shaped object for tossing into a crowd of people. The head includes long hair or a long cord attached to it such that the head may be hurled by the hair or cord into a crowd. The head further includes the face of a famous person and a pre-recorded sound byte within an audio generator that activates on contact. The sound byte is personalized for the famous person.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to advertising systems and, moreparticularly, to a souvenir toy or game for promoting a public figure orevent.

BACKGROUND

It is well known in the field of advertising that souvenirs tend to helppromote particular public figures or events. Such souvenirs haveincluded autographed pictures, hats having associated logos, mugs, pens,promotional CD's, figurines resembling the public figure, associatedtoys, games, etc.

The more closely related a souvenir is to a particular event or publicfigure, the higher the likelihood of association of that event or publicfigure in the minds of consumers, fans, or potential fans. Suchassociation has been shown to increase popularity of particular eventsor public figures. Further, souvenirs designed such that a use isprovided independent of the event or public figure may increaseadvertising potential. For example, a ball with a logo of a particularevent may be used to play catch or other such related games. It is aconstant goal in the field of advertising to provide souvenirs that willremain useful or entertaining for as long as possible.

It is a further goal in the advertising industry to provide a safe andaffective mode for distributing souvenirs of related events or publicfigures. Current methods of distribution include handing out thesouvenirs, mailing the souvenirs to people, or tossing the souvenirsinto a crowd. Tossing the souvenirs into a crowd, however, presents thefurther problem that the souvenir must be designed in such a way as notto injure a member of the crowd, while still providing the desiredadvertising affect.

The disadvantages associated with current advertising system should makeit apparent that a new system for advertising is needed. The new systemshould provide enjoyment or usefulness, and should be substantially easyto distribute. The present invention is directed to these ends.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a tossable headadvertising system includes a soft or semi soft head shaped object fortossing into a crowd of people. The head includes long hair or a longcord attached to it such that the head may be hurled by the hair or cordinto a crowd. The head further includes the face of a famous person anda pre-recorded sound byte within an audio generator that activates oncontact. The sound byte is personalized for the famous person.

One advantage of the present invention is that it may be easily hurledinto a crowd such that likelihood of injury to a member of the crowd ishighly unlikely. A further advantage of the present invention is thatthe novelty of design is such that a direct association may be madebetween the tossable head and a particular event or public figure.

Additional advantages and features of the present invention will becomeapparent from the description that follows, and may be realized by meansof the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out inthe appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now bedescribed some embodiments thereof, given by way of example, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a tossable head system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cutaway view of the tossable head in accordancewith FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a logic flow diagram of a method for operating thetossable head of FIG. 1 in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is illustrated with respect to a tossable head 10(i.e. advertising system) particularly suited to the advertising field.The present invention is, however, applicable to various other uses thatmay require person specific systems, as will be understood by oneskilled in the art.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a tossable head system 10 for use inadvertising, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,is illustrated. The tossable head 10 includes a tossing means 12, suchhair or a cord, a recognizable face 14, a impact detection device 16, anaudio generator 18, a power supply 20, and a soft or semi soft housing22.

The housing 22 encloses the impact detection device 16, audio generator18, and the power supply 20 such that these components are protectedfrom concussion when the tossable head system 10 is thrown. The housing22 may be made of a foamy material, such as is common in Nerf™ products,cloth, rubber, or any other soft, semi-soft, or hard plastic or foamsubstance, or any natural stuffing material known in the art. Thehousing is formed in the general shape of a head, such that features areeither molded thereon or coupled thereto so as to form a recognizableface 14 thereon. Extending outwardly from the housing 22 is the tossingapparatus 12 that resembles hair or other such objects or protuberances,such as ears, useful for tossing the tossable head system 10.

The recognizable face 14 is either molded into or coupled to the housing22 and may be either two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Therecognizable face includes an image or features of a public figure, suchas a musician, actor, or comedian, or an art type, such as Uncle Sam.The recognizable face 14 may be made of the same material as the housing22, such as a soft foam material, or ultimately it may be made of aslightly harder material such as a semi-hard plastic. The recognizableface 14 may include an expression that relates to or a signature of thepublic figure represented thereby.

The tossing apparatus 12 or tossing handle, extending outwardly from thescalp portion 24 of the housing 22, is embodied as either a cord or agrouping of hair that appears to be a head of hair for the tossable headsystem 10. However, important to note is that the tossing apparatus 12is embodied as a long grouping of hair 12 designed such that it can beeasily grabbed by someone intending to toss the head.

The tossing apparatus 12 is attached to the housing 22 such thatcentrifugal force applied to the head through a slinging motion appliedby someone intending to toss the head does not detach the hair 12 fromthe housing 22. Such attachment may be achieved through sewing thetossing apparatus 12 to the housing 22, gluing the tossing apparatus 12to the housing 22 or molding the tossing apparatus 12 directly to thehousing 22. As was mentioned, the tossing apparatus may also be a cordextending from a portion of the housing 22, such that the tossable headsystem 10 may be tossed by force supplied in a centrifugal manner to thecord 12.

The impact detection device 16 (sensor) activates in response toconcussion impact caused upon contact of the tossable head system 10with a person or object, after the tossable head system 10 has beenthrown. The impact detection device 16 then sends a signal to, ordirectly activates the audio generator 18, which generates apre-recorded audio clip signal specific to the recognizable face 14.

The audio generator 18 is embodied as a typical speaker and sound bytecircuit system coupled to an internal portion of the housing 22 andactivating in response to detected impact of the tossable head system10. The audio generator 18 may include one sound byte or audio clip thatis related to the recognizable face 14. An example thereof includes anotable surfer face on the tossable head system 10 having an audio clipof “Whoa Dude!” Numerous other audio clips are also embodied herein thatare specific to each individual recognizable face 14. Further, the audiogenerator 18 may include multiple face specific audio clips or soundbytes activating in response to successive impacts of the system 10.

Referring to FIG. 3, a logic flow diagram of a method for operating atossable head system 10, in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention, is illustrated. Logic starts in operation block 52where the power supply 20 provides power to the system 10.

In operation block 54, the head is tossed through, for example,centrifugal force applied to the head by means of the tossing apparatus12.

In operation block 56, the tossable head impacts a person or object; andthe audio generator 18 is activated and an audio clip specific to therecognizable face 14 is activated in operation block 58.

In operation, the tossable head 10 is spun around by the tossingapparatus 12 and thrown through the air, whereby it impacts a person orobject. An example thereof is a situation in which the tossable head 10is thrown into an audience, such as a group of fans of the public figurefeatured on the recognizable face 14. Upon impact, the sound clip in theaudio generator 18 is activated; and an expression relevant to thepublic figure represented by the recognizable face 14 is generated. Thetossable head 10 is reusable, such that they need to be tossed over andover again whereon impact will result in either the same audio clip or aseries of audio clips related to the recognizable face 14.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that there has been brought to theart a new and improved advertising system. It is to be understood thatthe preceding description of the preferred embodiment is merelyillustrative of some of the many specific embodiments that representapplications of the principles of the present invention. Numerous otherarrangements will be evident to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined by the followingclaims.

1. A tossable head system comprising: a substantially head-shapedhousing comprising a face and a scalp portion; a tossing apparatusextending from said scalp portion; an audio generator generating atleast one face-specific audio clip in response to an impact of thetossable head system; and an impact detection device detecting saidimpact of the tossable head system.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinsaid face comprises a two-dimensional or three-dimensional recognizableface of a public figure or otherwise famous person.
 3. The system ofclaim 1 further comprising a power supply within said housing supplyingpower to at least one of said impact detection device or said audiogenerator, wherein said power supply is a battery or potential energydevice.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said housing comprises atleast one of a foam material, a hard plastic material, a soft plasticmaterial, rubber, cloth, an artificial or a natural stuffing material,or any combination thereof.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein saidface-specific audio clip is a signature saying or sound representativeof said face.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a pluralityof face-specific audio clips activating successively in response toimpacts of the tossable head system following said impact.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein said tossing apparatus comprises hair or a hair likematerial, a cord, or a protuberance such that said housing may be swungin a centrifugal manner relative to said tossing apparatus.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein said hair or hair like material isdisproportionately long relative to the tossable head.
 9. A tossablehead system comprising: a substantially head-shaped housing comprising arecognizable face and a scalp portion, said housing further comprising amaterial that cushions impact of the tossable head system when thetossable head system is thrown; a tossing apparatus extending from saidscalp portion such that said housing may be swung in a centrifugalmanner relative to a portion of said tossing apparatus; an audiogenerator generating at least one face-specific audio clip in responseto an impact of the tossable head system; an impact detection devicedetecting said impact of the tossable head system; and a power supplywithin said housing supplying power to at least one of said impactdetection device or said audio generator.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein said housing comprises at least one of a foam material, a hardplastic material, a soft plastic material, rubber, cloth, an artificialor a natural stuffing material, or any combination thereof.
 11. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein said face-specific audio clip is a signaturesaying or sound representative of said face.
 12. The system of claim 9,further comprising a plurality of face-specific audio clips activatingsuccessively in response to impacts of the tossable head systemfollowing said impact.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein said hair orhair like material is disproportionately long relative to the tossablehead.
 14. An advertising system comprising: a head-shaped devicecomprising a recognizable face and an impact absorbing material; aflexible handle coupled to said head-shaped device having an appearanceof hair and extending outwardly from said head-shaped device such that auser may thereby toss the advertising system from momentum generated byslinging said head-shaped device with said flexible handle; a powersupply enclosed within said head-shaped device powering said impactsensor and said audio-clip generator; an impact sensor enclosed withinsaid head-shaped device; and an audio clip generator enclosed withinsaid head-shaped device activating in response to signals from saidimpact sensor and generating an audio clip specific to said recognizableface.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein said head-shaped devicecomprises at least one of a foam material, a hard plastic material, asoft plastic material, rubber, cloth, an artificial or a naturalstuffing material, or any combination thereof.
 16. The system of claim14, wherein said flexible handle is disproportionately long relative tosaid head-shaped device.
 17. The system of claim 14 further comprising aplurality of face-specific audio clips activating successively inresponse to successive impacts of said head-shaped device.